The Adventure of the Haunted House
by AnnCarter
Summary: Sherlock and Watson investigate the murder of a young woman and the appearance of ghosts in London.
1. Prologue

**Name: **The Adventure of The Haunted House.

**Writer:** Ann.

**Fandom:** Sherlock Holmes.

**Rating: **PG13.

**Others:** Oh, my Sherlock. Was reading the books again when that idea came to my mind. Tried to make it as old-fashioned-British as I could. ;-)

**All rights reserved to Arthur Conan Doyle (or whoever owns the right now), not to me.**

**Prologue-**

"I've got it!"

I looked up from the newspaper the moment I heard Sherlock's happy cry. He was standing by the desk on which he did his chemistry experiments, and has clearly found the solution to a problem that has been troubling him for the past week. In his right hand I saw a bottle filled with blue-coloured liquid. I could tell it had to do with his latest investigation, though what was the nature of the connection – I couldn't tell.

"This," Holmes explained when he saw my look of misunderstanding, "Is the poison that was given to poor Mrs Addison." He rubbed his hands in anticipation. "Once I give it to the Scotland Yard, our part of the investigation ends, and the law will take command." Glancing out the window, he added, "But it would seem we are not finished quite yet."

"Is it a client?" I asked, putting the newspaper down.

Holmes nodded. "He's working in the government. We're about to investigate a woman's death," He added right before the door opened, and we found ourselves in the company of Britain's Interior Minister.

"Mr Holmes," The Minister seemed agitated, "I need your help. Please. I do not know where else to turn to."

Holmes' face once more wore the relaxing expression I have known so well. "Sit down, have a cigar," He added, suggesting him one. The Minister took it as he collapsed on one of the couches, looking at Holmes in a miserable, desperate look. "She was your fiancée," He said.

The Minister's eyes widened in surprise I have seen more than once. "Yes. How did-" He cut himself off as he realized who was he speaking to. "Of course, Mr Holmes. She was my fiancée. I only found out this morning, and I came straight to you."

Still with a relaxing expression and tone of voice, Holmes asked, "What happened?"

The Minister took a deep breath before replying. "She needed to go home, so we agreed we shall meet a week later, which is today. But when I got to her home her family told me they had found her dead. No one was inside her room with her since yesterday in the morning, and she didn't commit a suicide. There were strange marks on her body, but I couldn't tell what kind of weapon could leave these marks."

While he took another deep breath, I glanced at my friend, who was sitting quietly in his armchair, looking thoughtfully at his newest client. But I could tell this new case was of no interest to him. He has always loved the weird crimes, and this was hardly this case. At least, it wasn't until the man sitting in front of us spoke again.

"But that was not the weird thing, Mr Holmes, but the ghost we have seen in the room. It was haunted!"


	2. Part 1: The Story

**Part 1-** The Story.

"I met Annie Airdon two years ago, right here in London. You see, she's a clever lovely woman, and we soon fell in love. I was happy with her as she was with me, and so three weeks ago I proposed to her. As I was hoping, she said yes. We agreed the wedding shall take place in June.

"A week ago she received a letter. It was horrible. She turned paler than I ever thought was possible. When I asked her what happened, all she said was, 'I need to return home'.

"'You can go back,' I said to her, 'but surely it is not as bad as it seems.'

"She shook her head. 'It is much worse than it seems,' she replied. 'I have to return today. I shall return in a week,' she added quietly. And then, in a low voice she did not expect me to hear, she said, 'I hope.'

"This was the last time I saw her alive. She took the train back home that night, taking a small suitcase with her. She seemed nervous, and I couldn't help but wonder what has happened. But as much as I wanted to have her followed, I thought I should not do so. You see, Mr Holmes, Annie and I trust each other completely. And so she left and I remained alone.

"When I woke up this morning there was a messenger by the door. He had a telegram in his hand. Here, Mr Holmes, this is it."

The Minister handed Holmes a small piece of paper. He looked at it for a moment, using all of his skills to get as much information as he can from it, before handing it over to me. The paper read:

We cannot find Annie. Come quickly.

-David Airdon.

I returned it to my friend and turned to the Minister curiously. I assumed David was Annie's brother or other relative, but could not be sure of that. Holmes, however, seemed to have realized who he is.

"What is he doing in her house?" He asked the man in front of us, who looked at him with a remarkable amount of surprise and question. "The cousin, David," Holmes replied to his questioning look impatiently, "Why is he there?"

"He is... He is helping her family while she is away," He replied, still looking surprised. "How did you know he is not part of their household?" He asked.

To every other human being Holmes may have looked incredibly patient, but I could see he was impatient. He wanted to move on with his new investigation, something he could not do if he had to stop and explain himself every moment.

"Their last names are identical, and since she is not yet married, they are clearly relatives. However, he had to add his second name in order for you to recognize it, which means you haven't met him more than a couple of times. If he was a regular part of her household, you would have already known him by now." He explained quickly, in an impatient tone. "Who is part of her household?" He asked.

It took the Minister a few minutes before he replied, and I used the time to study him the way I know Holmes has already done. He was dressed in official black suit which was tide and clean. His watch was expensive, and the way he acted was the one of a high society member. I could tell he walked by some mud on his newly-looking shoes, but other than that, I could tell nothing. Holmes' smile, however, told me he knew exactly what I was doing.

Then our client spoke again. "In her home live four people- her father, her mother, her sister and a maid. Her father works in a big company in the city, while her mother is taking care of the children and part of the household. The maid is a thirty-year-old woman who has been living with them for the past eight years. They trust her completely, and so far nothing has changed their minds about her. They live in one of the suburbs around London. This is all I know about it."

Holmes sat silently for a moment, thinking and organizing the facts the Minister has told him. Both I and the Minister looked at him expectedly. Knowing him and seeing the suppressed excitement in his eyes, I knew he has already found a few clues, and has a theory. But as to what theory, I could not tell.

Eventually he spoke, in a quiet, relaxed tone. "What happened this morning?"

I could see the morning events still affected our client. "As soon as I heard the news I hurried to the train station. I took the first train I found and as soon as I got to the station near their house I took a light wagon to the place itself. By the time I arrived there they had already found her body. She was dead. As I said, there were strange marks on her body, which none of us could identify."

"I see." Holmes looked at the air thoughtfully, and I knew he was going over the facts he has found out. Looking at him with uncovered excitement, I thought, too. Unlike my friend, I had no clue as to what happened. Suddenly he looked up at the Minister, surprising both of us. "You mentioned a ghost."

He nodded. "Yes, Mr Holmes. We went up to her room, and we saw a ghost, about Annie's height. It was looking at us, I could swear it was. But when I tried entering the room, it touched me. And that-"

"-Left the burning mark on your right hand," Holmes completed. The Minister looked at him in surprise again, but the detective didn't say anything. Instead, he handed him his notebook with a pen. "Write down the addresses of your house and her family's address," He ordered. The other man quickly did as he said, handing him the notebook back. Holmes read the addresses quickly before grabbing his grey raincoat. "Come, Watson. We have a case to look into."


	3. Part 2: The Crime Scene

**Part 2-** The Crime Scene

We took the first train to the suburb that day, and arrived at the house at five o'clock. Annie's family was already waiting at the door, knowing we were to arrive. On our short walk to the house Holmes kept looking at the ground, searching for footprints or other evidence for something that may have happened there. I looked at the ground as well, but couldn't distinguish which is whose. However, by the satisfied look in Holmes' eyes, I could tell he was more successful than I was.

We walked around the house for a few minutes before meeting the family. As the minister told us, they were four- the parents, who both seemed like their world fell apart with the death of their first daughter, the sister fair sister, who seemed saddened by the events even more so than her fiancé, and the cousin, whose face was completely blank. Other than deep grief I could see nothing special in their faces, and so I continued studying them. Next to me, Holmes nodded slightly, and I knew it was meant for me.

The mother, Marie, was tall and slender. Her clothes were messy and she did not wear any jewellery. I could tell she was in grief but was happy to see we have come to help. The father, Edward, looked at them sternly. He was clearly under control, even though I could see he was in pain. Between them stood a young, dark haired woman, whose eyes and nose were red of crying. And moving forward towards us was David, a tall, well-built young man. I had a feeling her did not enjoy seeing us there, though I had no idea why.

"What have you learned?" Holmes asked quietly as we entered the house.

We sat in the living room, waiting for the family to arrive with the tea and food they left to bring. "They're clearly sad," Said I. "I don't know what the cousin thinks, but the sister seems devastated. The mother and the sister haven't done a thing since the daughter was found, but I think the father went out today."

Sherlock nodded. "You're learning, Watson," He said. "Though I disagree. By the dirt on the mother's arm, you can see she has been searching something outside, or perhaps in a dusty room. The father's business suit shows that he has been in the city, but not for long. He probably left to find someone to build a coffin for Ms Airdon. The sister only got out of bed in order to see her sister's room and body, but the creases show you she returned there immediately afterwards. The cousin was awake last night through the whole night, and is a left-handed. He was also a friend of Ms Airdon."

"That's just the beginning, isn't it?" I asked.

Holmes smiled briefly. "It is. Mr and Mrs Airdon," He greeted them as they walked in. They sat down on a sofa in front of us, looking at us quietly. Seeing they would not talk without his guidance, Holmes spoke. "What happened?"

"Well," Marie opened with a shaky voice, "We had trouble at home, so Annie returned home a week ago."

"What kind of trouble?"

She lowered her voice. "It was David. He came back home drunk again and again, and we did not know what to do. Annie always had a good effect on him, and we thought if she comes back, he would calm down."

"But it did not work."

"No. He just turned violent. I warned him to stay away from her, but I think he hit her. He was so scary…" Her husband put his hand around her, trying to calm her down. But instead she burst into tears, leaving the three gentlemen to finish the discussion on their own.

"Mr Holmes… My daughter was never a coward. But the night before she died, she was terrified. I know my girl well, and I know she was, though I do not know what terrified her so much. It was right after she returned home from her women club, and she seemed as if she has seen a demon."

Holmes thought for a moment. "Was there anyone with her during the time between her leaving the club and returning home?"

"Not that I know of."

"Who is part of this club?"

The father thought. "They are four- Annie, Ms Eder, Ms Allen and Nancy. Nancy was her best friend," He explained. "They shared everything."

Seeing Holmes' eyes lit up, I understood he has a theory. But all he said was, "I would like to see the room."

Our host got up immediately. "Of course, Mr Holmes."

He led us to her room, and as we walked I watched Holmes studying the house from the inside. He stopped at some of the rooms, going over the furniture in each room. He looked at book shelves, beds, desks and closets. I did not know what he was looking for, but it was clear to me that he had not found it.

The door to the room was locked, and none of the people in the house wanted to open it, not even the maid. I looked at it curiously while Holmes opened it, wondering what we might find there. Could there really be a ghost in the room?

I was shocked to see there was.

It was in the middle of the room, half invisible. I could tell it was a woman's ghost, and believed it was there to pretend to be Annie's ghost. It did not seem possible that it really was a ghost.

Holmes looked at it curiously, and I could see he reached the same conclusion as I did. Then he stepped into the room, silently telling me to follow him. I followed, and to his request I closed the door behind me, leaving us alone with the ghost in the dead woman's room.

"An interesting little investigation." Holmes remarked as he looked around the room, searching for evidence and ignoring the ghost.

"I can't understand any of it," I admitted, watching him.

He lay down, studying the floor from as close as he could. He checked every single thing in the room, from the bed to the desk to the photographs on it. Finally, with a happy cry, he sat up, holding a small piece of paper in his hand. He moved back towards me, and then showed me the opened piece.

"'Be there at midnight'?" I asked, not understanding. "It is probably about her club. I cannot see how it means anything."

Holmes smiled in delight. "It means everything, my dear Watson. It tells us Ms Airdon was asked to meet someone at midnight. We also know that he has not done so, and as a result someone climbed out to her room in order to hurt her. But if you look closely, you can see there are no tracks on the floor, which would be impossible had someone come from the garden through her window."

"And the ghost?" I asked, pointing at the ghost in the middle of the room.

Holmes' smile was mysterious. "That, Watson, you will see."

My curiosity just grew. I wanted to ask him more about it, but I knew when Holmes wanted to keep something as the dramatic ingredient for the end of the mystery, nothing could change his mind. So I simply followed him downstairs to examine the body, locking the door behind me.

Holmes examined the body slowly. He looked at the weird, whiplash like marks on her body, which were red and swollen. The circled her slender body, each mark is exactly three centimetres from another one. Her brown hair, which was clearly long before, was nearly cut out completely. There was only one ring on her fingers, the simple golden ring the Minister told us he had given her.

Eventually Holmes got up. "Keep the room locked," He ordered. "Watson and I will return to London, but we will be here in the morning," He added, turning to leave.

"Do you have an idea, Mr Holmes?" Edward's voice was desperate.

"I solved the case," was all Holmes said before we left the house, leaving behind us a shocked family.


	4. Part 3: The Solution

****Hi you guys! Sorry it took me so long to upload! Epilogue will be coming ASAP :)

* * *

**Part 3-** The solution.

On our way back to the train station Holmes stopped by a small house by the road. He would not let anyone come with him, and so I waited for him outside, wondering what he was doing. Eventually he returned, but didn't say a word. The rest of our way back to Baker Street was shorter than it really felt. Throughout our way I wondered what Holmes' solution was, and couldn't help but once again feel amazed by his deductive skills. Despite me seeing everything he has seen, I couldn't find any leads on this case.

Despite my great curiosity, I didn't say a word as we headed back to our apartment. Holmes was thinking, and I knew better than to disturb him. And so I waited until we arrived on Baker Street before I opened my mouth to ask about it. To my surprise, my friend spoke before I managed to ask anything.

"If you'll wait another moment, my dear Watson, I shall tell you everything," He said, not even looking at me. His eyes were fixed on his casebook, but when I didn't response he turned to me, a smile playing on his lips. "You aren't surprised, Watson, or are you?" He asked.

"I didn't think you paid attention," I said as I sat down.

Holmes laughed quietly. "Why, my dear Watson, you know me," He said, returning to his casebook. I did not reply, but simply sat there and waited for Holmes to turn to me again. A few minutes later I heard a cry of satisfaction, and before I could speak he was already back in his favourite couch, taking his pipe out and lighting it up. Only after he was seated and was smoking again he spoke, leaving the piece of paper on the table. "Ask whatever you'd like to know," He said.

"What happened to Ms Airdon?" I asked curiously.

Holmes smiled and shook his head. "I sent a messenger to Airdon family's house, asking the parents, the cousin and the Minister to arrive at nine o'clock tomorrow morning. You will have the solution for your mystery then. But I am ready to answer every other question you've got in order to finish your story so far."

I leaned back in my chair, thinking. "Is the ghost real?" I asked.

Holmes shook his head. "No. Even though some might say it is."

"Who did you visit on our way back?"

His smile was a secret one. "Why, Watson, who would you think I was visiting?" He asked, encouraging me to think on my own as he always did.

I thought silently for a moment. "Was it her best friend, Nancy?" I asked. He nodded. "What did she have to say?" I continued.

Holmes puffed on his pipe. "Around her house I have not seen much, only traces of this." He showed me a small bottle, in which I could see white crumbs. Seeing as I have not yet reached the conclusion he had, he put it on the table and continued his story. "Ms Ters is a lovely young lady. She told me at the club Ms Airdon was as relaxed as usual, even though it seemed as if something was disturbing her. She also told me she had set a meeting with her when they left the club, which took place in Ms Eder's home."

"So this explains the note we found in Ms Airdon's room."

"It is. But it brings up an important question- why would these two ladies want to meet in such an hour?"

"I don't know."

Holmes shook his head slightly. "Think, Watson," He said, looking at me slightly expectedly. "Would she meet one of her friends? She obviously would not, as she had just met them when they set up their meeting. Could it have been a family member? Or perhaps it was a friend?"

"Was it the cousin she planned to meet?" I asked, looking at him with great curiosity.

"That was that I thought at the beginning, too. But then, why would she leave her house in order to meet with him? He is drunk and not in control of his actions, and clearly the safest place for her is her family's house. No, it could not have been him."

"Who was it, then?"

Glancing at the clock, my friend spoke. "We might as well get into our beds now, Watson, as it is late and tomorrow morning will be an interesting one." He did not stop smoking, nor did he get up or show any intention of doing so.

Unlike Holmes, I knew I needed sleep. While he could remain up and about without sleep for a few days, I knew I could not. Seeing how late it was, I decided to go to bed and try to relax until I have found the solution of this mystery. I left Holmes seated in his chair and smoking, and even as I lay in bed, trying to calm myself down to sleep, I could hear his steps and his violin, both playing quick and restless.

* * *

I woke up the next morning at eight in the morning, and was not surprised to have found out that Holmes had stayed up all night. He was seated at the table and was having breakfast as I went down to eat, and so I joined him in his meal.

"Good morning, my dear Watson," Holmes put down the morning newspaper as I joined him. "I trust you slept well?"

I shook his head. "I could barely close my eyes," I admitted. "I was thinking about Ms Airdon's mystery."

Holmes gave me a smile. "Do not worry. In an hour you will find out the solution to the mystery that troubles you so much," He said. "I took the liberty of inviting one more person to our meeting later," He added.

"Really? Who is it?"

"Ms Ters."

"Ms Ters? What does she have to do with the solution of the mystery?"

"Why, Watson, she _is_ the solution. As a matter of fact, she might be able to clarify a few points which I myself could not have understood," He added, looking as calm and peaceful as always.

Within the hour we have both been waiting in our living room. One by one, the men and women Holmes has asked for have arrived, and a few minutes after nine they were all seated and ready to talk.

"The only thing I don't understand," Holmes turned to Ms Ters, seemingly ignoring the others, "Is how you made the ghost." There was silence in the room, complete, shocked silence, which I knew was something my friend liked. To me, the shocked silences always meant interesting stories. "But of course, let's start from the beginning.

"After we have been to your house, we have stopped in Ms Ters' house. You might think her part in our mystery was small, but the truth was it had all been a plan made by Ms Airdon and Ms Ters. After Mr Airdon-" Holmes gestured at the cousin, who stared at him silently, "-hit Ms Airdon, she realized her only way to stop him from 'ruining his own life', if I may quote, was to take extreme measures. The evening before she died she had met with the women of her club, who have all suggested ways to treat her problem.

"However, there was only one solution she had liked, and so Ms Ters, Ms Airdon and Ms Ters' lover have planned to meet in your daughter's room. Yet as you can tell, there was no one who entered your house, let alone your daughter's room, that late at night. It has rained all around London that night, and so we should have clearly seen traces inside the house. If I am not wrong, the reason that the meeting was stopped from happening was none other than Mr Airdon, who had discovered his cousin's plans and decided to stop them from happening. And so Ms Airdon had found herself running for her life in the middle of the night, with only her best friend and her lover on her side.

"Am I right so far?" He paused and asked Ms Ters.

"Yes." She nodded, looking as shocked as the family and the minister.

I could see a slight smile in Holmes' eyes when he heard the answer, but when he continued the story, his eyes were clear of emotions once again. "The ladies' idea was to have Mr Airdon find Ms Airdon, wearing the marks you have found of her, dead, and be told that the truth was that he was responsible for her death. Despite Mr Airdon's threats to kill them, they decided to continue forward with the plan. On the way back to the house he had caught up with them and killed her." He finished dramatically.

By the time Holmes had finished, we were all leaning forward, staring at him in shocked silence. I, too, stared at him. I could not do anything else while the pieces of the puzzle slowly sorted out through my mind. But even though this was everything for the family, I still wanted to know how he had done that. I knew that explanation would come after the family will leave, but it was not easy to fight off my curiosity.

"But how did you create the 'ghost'?" The question was turned to Ms Ters.

She shrugged. "We used strings and the most delicate fabric we could find," She replied. I could sense Holmes' lack of patience. This was not the part he could not have figured out. It was the electricity. "The rest was Ian's plan," She added. "I know nothing about it."

I could sense Holmes' disappointment. However, none of it showed on his face, which was as clear of emotions as humanly possible. "And this," he finished, "Is the whole story."


	5. Epilogue

Finally, the end!

* * *

**Epilogue.**

I waited until our guests have left before I spoke. Holmes was still seated in his favourite armchair with his pipe in his mouth as I sat down in front of him, looking at him curiously. He did not say a word for a long moment as I phrased my thoughts, only looked at me with a slight dry smile.

"I am sorry, my dear Watson," He said as I sat down and opened my mouth to speak. "I should not have asked you to wait for this long. Once again, you have shown incredible patience, for which I am grateful. But now you probably wonder how I figured out the story of Ms Airdon."

I nodded. "I do," I replied.

I must have still looked amazed, because Holmes laughed quietly. "The beauty of the strange cases," He opened, "Is that they are unique. Usually the more special the puzzle is, the easier it is to solve. In this case, our first logical assumption was that the ghost was not real, since it could not be. Once I have decided that, I tried to realize in what ways it could have been created.

"Seeing as the victim had a hard time with one of her own family, I had already a first lead. Those were neither her parents nor her sister that she needed to deal with, but a cousin, I left the option that he had to do with her sudden death open. Of course, we could rule out their entire household, as there were dozens of small clues that suggested they were not involved in it. I found this," He showed me a few small strings, "In the cousin's current room, which could only suggest that Ms Airdon did not only visit him in his room the day before, but that they got into a fight as well. I would assume they fought about his drinking, but this we can never know for sure.

"She has gone to her club, where, as women tend to do, she told her friends of her cousin. She would not have the solution, being a quiet soul as the Minister had described her, but one of her friends – I was not sure who it was and that it has happened until I have seen the note in her room – would suggest the old trick of pretending to disappear. At the point when we entered the room, I had two logical assumptions that could both be true- one, that she decided to pretend to disappear, and the other, that she confronted him with a witness. For both assumptions I needed a witness, and I could tell who it was right after I found the note, since the writing was the same as the one on the note on her desk, which was signed by Ms Ters. You did not notice that, did you, Watson?

"When I checked the area around the house I could see tracks going both towards it and away from it, two of each. When they turned from the house there was great distance between them, which told me the two were running. I assumed someone had climbed into her room and tried to hurt her, and in return she ran away, but as I mentioned to her when we were in her room, there were no tracks on the floor, and it rained that night, which, of course, did not make sense. Those two simple facts meant a few things for our case. One is that someone was still in the room when we entered it, even though they were unseen. The second, just as important, is that someone was running after her. Judging by the length of the traces, there was only one person who it could have been- the cousin. And the only reason he would have tried to hurt someone so dear to him was that she was planning something to somehow hurt him. Add it to the ghost and the marks – which are clearly made by real whiplashes – and I think the story is very clear.

"I only had a few questions at this point. The first I could answer soon afterwards, when you waited for our wagon. I hurried to see if my fears had come true, only to find out that at one point the first person fell, and from there on there were no tracks of her. As I suspected, he had accidentally killed her. Another question was about the ghost.

"On our way to the train station I asked you to stop at Ms Ters' house for a reason. At this point I knew it was her who helped Ms Airdon, and I knew she and someone else were responsible for the ghost. I had my own suspicions, but one should not make assumptions without having all the facts at hand, and so I asked her a few harmless questions. I managed to verify most of my assumptions, and I found out she had a boyfriend. Judging by the traces I could see it was a young man carrying something. You see, Watson," He leaned back, a slight smile on his lips, "It was quite a simple case."

I stared at him in amazement for a long moment, unable to say a word. Looking at Holmes' chain of deductions, the case seemed like it could not be simpler. But I remembered all the missing clues, and was once again full of admiration towards my friend. "This was amazing," I muttered, still staring at him.

He smiled a rare real smile. Holmes rarely showed any emotion, but in the face of true admiration from a friend, his cheeks flushed and his eyes glimmered. He almost seemed human in that moment and I could not help but smile.

"When I will one day allow you to publish my investigations again, I suppose you will add that to your list," He said after he calmed down and both his eyes and cheeks returned to their normal colour. "The Adventure of the Haunted House."

"Holmes... What about the ghost?"

My friend smiled mysteriously. "The ghost is obviously made of strings and almost unseen fabric so it will look like a ghost. I think the burning marks were made by the same human hand that made the whiplash marks on Ms Airdon's body- Ian's body. It was all manmade."


End file.
